Darondo Let My People Go

• Words: Eric K. Arnold
• Label: Luv ‘n Haight
• XLR8R Rating: /10

This reissue-and-then-some offers songs heretofore only known to crate diggers lucky enough to own all three highly prized Darondo 45s. It also includes three additional tunes-originally recorded in the SF soul man‘s late ‘60s heyday-fleshed out by the singer and Bing Ji Ling. The results are positively stunning, from the quasi-political title track to the tender post-coital ballad "Didn‘t I" (astutely picked by Gilles Peterson for his Digs America comp). Darondo proves reminiscent of an early Sly Stone-not to mention a precursor of Babyface and Rafael Saadiq-yet with a unique, hella funky flavor all his own.